)
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Christian Mbilli have officially announced their highly anticipated bout, set to take place on September 12th in Saudi Arabia. The two fighters faced off in Egypt, headlining a boxing gala in Riyadh dubbed "Mexico vs. The World." This marks Canelo's third fight since partnering with Saudi Arabian promoters. His previous outings saw him secure a points victory over William Scull and suffer a decision loss to Terence Crawford.
Following that defeat, the Mexican underwent elbow surgery. Despite turning 36 in July, he remains supremely confident in his abilities.
"I'm so confident. I'm always confident because I know where I am, how I train, how I feel, and how good I am," Canelo stated at the press conference. "So I'm very confident. I still have motivation. I feel like I'm 15 years old."
His opponent, Mbilli, boasts an impressive record of 29-0-1 (24 KOs), with his sole draw coming in a thrilling 10-round contest against Lester Martinez on the undercard of the Canelo-Crawford fight.
"He's a champion and a dangerous fighter," Canelo remarked. "He throws a lot of punches, he's strong, and I like those kinds of fights. I love them."
Due to boxing regulations, Mbilli was awarded the WBC Super Middleweight title after the draw, which was for the interim belt. The 31-year-old Cameroonian, who resides in Canada, is pleased with his progress.
"My goal was to become a world champion and fight Canelo," he explained. "The last six months have been incredible. I believe I have a good style to beat Canelo because I'm a great fighter. I have good power, good speed, I have all the qualities to beat Canelo and win this fight. I don't care about Canelo's age. What matters are my boxing skills and his, and the moment for me is perfect," Mbilli added, claiming he saw weaknesses in Canelo's performance against Crawford that he can exploit.
"In September, you will be surprised. In September, you will regret being in that ring," he declared, addressing the future Hall of Famer.
"You'll see different things. I'm not one of your opponents who comes to France and all that. Even if I'm 50 years old, you can't beat me. In this life, he cannot beat me," Canelo retorted with conviction.
Mbilli assessed the chances as 50-50, stating it could be the "Fight of the Decade." When asked about Mbilli's percentage chance of winning, Canelo's response was succinct: "Zero."
&format=webp)
&format=webp)
,fit(112:112)&format=webp)
&format=webp)
,fit(112:112)&format=webp)
&format=webp)